The internet slammed a mom who laughed at her daughter who'd asked if she could get paid for washing the dishes.
In a post that has gone viral in the infamous Reddit forum, "AmITheA**hole," u/Late-Raise9846 asked the community if she was too harsh or right on track.
In a survey conducted in 2019, two-thirds of parents give their children money in hopes they get a positive learning lesson when it comes to chores. According to the survey, the average allowance for children is $30 per week.
The Redditor is a single mother and raises her two kids ,ages eight and fifteen. One night, the daughter went to the OP (Also known as Original Poster) to ask if she could get paid for washing dishes. The OP laughed which triggered the girl to yell.
"I told her she can get paid when she pays me back for all the food and clothes I've bought for her, and for providing her with free housing. She got mad at me and went to her room," she explained.
The Redditor's other child said the mother might've been "too harsh" and it seems thousands of Reddit users agreed.
"You are legally and morally required to provide those things for her. An allowance for chores is very nice if it can fit the budget. It gives an older kid some pocket money and they can learn money management," u/Aunty_Fascist wrote in the top comment with 18,000 upvotes.
In response to the comment above, u/throwaboato said, "Saying kids should pay you back for providing the basics of life is outright saying that you resent their existence."
"You could have handled this so many ways. Tell her you can't afford to pay her, tell her that chores are the responsibility of everyone living in the home, tell her that you'd be happy to help her find a job she can do outside of the house to earn some cash. But telling her that her doing chores is REPAYING you for being her mother? You're f***ed way the f**k up," u/VoxVocis21 wrote in part.
The mother garnered little support, as the comments continued.
"You think your child is supposed to pay you back for THE BARE MINIMUM? Food? Clothes? Housing? You brought this person into existence for f**ks sake," u/outfluenced wrote.
"You could have taken this as an opportunity to have a mature conversation about finances," U/Proscuitto1 commented. "Instead you mocked your kid and threw in their face that they're a burden. I'm sure that's how she looked at it. You're the one who chose to bring kids into the world. You owe them everything and they owe you nothing."
